tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73171075373817395772024-03-05T09:30:28.006+01:00The Serious BarMonger- a collection of important news and information compiled from around the internetbarmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-60575428430513940502011-11-16T22:56:00.001+01:002011-11-16T23:09:07.351+01:00Meteor shower coming up (the Leonids)On the night between November 17th and 18th (Thursday night) the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonids">Leonids meteor shower</a> will reach its peak.<br />
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The Moon is up (although it's only about half), and apparently it will be close to the radiant of the shower, but you should be able to see a lot of meteors anyway.<br />
So make sure you get out there and have a look tomorrow night :-) <br />
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The Leonids are caused by the comet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/55P/Tempel%E2%80%93Tuttle">Tempel-Tuttle</a> and the debris (tiny dust particles) it leaves as it passes the Earths orbit. The comet returns every 33 years to refresh the debris trail (okay, that isn't <i>why</i> it returns) and it last passed through in 1998. It will return in 2031 and we can expect amazing meteor showers then.<br />
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You can read a bit more about the shower on <a href="http://www.meteorwatch.org/2011/11/11/leonids-meteor-shower-2011/">meteorwatch.org</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.meteorwatch.org/2011/11/11/leonids-meteor-shower-2011/">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.meteorwatch.org/2011/11/11/leonids-meteor-shower-2011/"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtg2JrUg2bjvabHhZ2imzfqJ3S5QUgO0dQ3DwtP_vmTE7QioEjABCYx2GqSMZIk5029ovgjHzt2-SGhY28KoCRxItf65QDR96BEF0tfhedGvLUWk6OIk8gJhAwKeS2Y17kSmjKEt3KRI/s400/leonids.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Leonids in 2001 (the picture is from <a href="http://meteorwatch.org/">meteorwatch.org</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-41384533065316075692011-10-23T20:51:00.004+02:002011-10-23T22:54:10.437+02:00ROSAT is downThis is just a short update to my <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/10/rosat-is-coming-down.html">previous post</a> about ROSAT and its impending re-entry into the Earths atmosphere.<br />
<br />
The Bad Astronomer just updated <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/10/22/rosats-final-hours/">his ROSAT post</a> with the following (partial) update (you can see the track of ROSATs final minutes in his post)<br />
<blockquote>
<i>UPDATE 3: ROSAT fell at 01:50 UTC last night (9:50 p.m. Eastern US
time), +/- 7 minutes. The track over the Earth during that time is shown
here.. (more in the post).</i></blockquote>
Universe Today also has a <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/90193/rosat-satellite-has-re-entered-no-reports-of-debris/">post about the re-entry</a> and the satellite appears to have fallen in the Indian Ocean<br />
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The latest news from <a href="http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10424/">dlr.de</a> indicates that there have been no sightings of debris from the satellite.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-31732041275032008372011-10-22T20:18:00.000+02:002011-10-22T20:19:00.731+02:00ROSAT is coming downAs you've probably heard there's another satellite coming down soon, this one called ROSAT (<span class="fontcolor-light"><a href="http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10424/">ROentgen SATellite</a>). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1163474744" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjidEsZluguRu0CTzqS3ChAG2pCyMSmR4M1jJ0hv7Qm0zjxsxYU8VOspFV-CL9Pz_57U4unlZ_uiG_HCFsBOABcEZ_gPdrQGmPMpM7_JDD3-vXhpPfHxiKJywLJYEHssd9Pnz_n0z3bRKc/s400/rosat1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/Portaldata/1/Resources/bilder/missionen/rosat/rosat1.jpg">ROSAT (image originally from dlr.de)</a></td></tr>
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<span class="fontcolor-light"></span><br />
<span class="fontcolor-light">ROSAT is a (mainly) German X-ray telescope which was launched into space on June 1st 1990. It was shut down in February 1999 and has been orbiting the Earth ever since (things already in orbit tends to do that).</span><br />
<span class="fontcolor-light">But now the altitude of the satellite has become low enough that a re-entry into the atmosphere is imminent.</span><br />
<span class="fontcolor-light">As of <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ROSAT_Reentry/status/127806429515096064">this writing</a> the altitude of the satellite is only 167.2 km (an<a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ROSAT_Reentry/status/127791333569069057"> hour ago</a> it was 170.3 km).</span><br />
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<span class="fontcolor-light">And just like the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/uars/index.html">previous satellite to fall down</a> the exact time of re-entry is not know; there are simply too many unknowns to account for. But predictions can be made.</span><br />
<span class="fontcolor-light">And according to the <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/10/22/rosats-final-hours">Bad Astronomer</a> the expected re-entry is:</span><br />
<blockquote>
...right now as I write this the nominal time of re-entry is sometime on October 23 between 06:00 and 13:00 UT...</blockquote>
<i>(Or 8:00 - 15:00 CEST).</i><br />
<br />
I'm not yet sure where it will "fall" but fear not as the odds of <a href="http://www.space.com/13343-falling-german-satellite-rosat-space-junk-faq.html">debris hitting anyone</a> is as low as 1:2000.<br />
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<br />barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-92131204620028982292011-10-17T21:39:00.000+02:002011-10-17T21:39:16.014+02:00Mission(s) to MarsAlmost two years ago I <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/01/spirit-i-salute-you.html">wrote about the Mars rover Spirit</a> and how it, after more than 5 years on Mars, got stuck in the soil and was unable to move any further. Eventually NASA gave up trying to contact the rover and today it is considered lost.<br />
Spirit was on a 90 (Martian) day mission to explore our neighbouring planet Mars with its twin rover Opportunity. Unlike Spirit, Opportunity is still going strong.<br />
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A week or so ago I saw a link (<a href="http://www.universetoday.com/89763/video-a-rovers-3-year-drive-across-mars/">on Universe Today</a>) to a video made from 3 years of Opportunity footage as it made its 20 km trek across the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridiani_Planum"> Meridiani Planum</a>.<br />
I've embedded the video below and you really should watch it, it's only about 3 minutes long and it's really cool. This is what it would look like if you drove (slowly) across the Martian surface.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Vj4e2FyNFIE" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
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<b>Other Mars missions</b><br />
In related news two other missions to Mars are coming along nicely.<br />
<br />
First there's the Russian mission <a href="http://www.russianspaceweb.com/phobos_grunt.html">Phobos-Grunt</a> which is going to attempt to land on the Martian moon Phobos and later return with a soil sample of it to Earth. How awesome is that!<br />
At the moment they have <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/89845/daring-russian-sample-return-mission-to-martian-moon-phobos-aims-for-november-liftoff/">launch planned</a> for November this year.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.russianspaceweb.com/images/spacecraft/planetary/mars/phobos_grunt/design/general_annotated_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.russianspaceweb.com/images/spacecraft/planetary/mars/phobos_grunt/design/general_annotated_1.jpg" width="367" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phobos-Grunt</td></tr>
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And then there's the NASA <a href="http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/">Curiosity mission</a> to send another rover to Mars, also scheduled for launch November/December this year.<br />
You can seen the <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/89346/assembling-curiosity%e2%80%99s-rocket-to-mars/">rocket being assembled here</a> and the latest <a href="http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=237">photos of the assembly here</a> in the official photo album (thanks to <a href="http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003217/">the Planetary Society</a>).<br />
There's also a <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/building_curiosity.html">live video feed</a> from the assembly room.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/msl20110519_PIA14156-fi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/msl20110519_PIA14156-fi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curiosity</td></tr>
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<br />barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-15897002760430853222011-10-12T21:04:00.000+02:002011-10-12T21:04:02.614+02:00Full moon at apogeeThis morning there was a full moon (as some of you probably noticed on your way to work). The Moon has been growing steadily for the last 2 weeks and it has now reached the point were it is at its brightest.<br />
<br />
I went outside tonight at got this picture of the Moon, it's quite a view when it's full.<br />
The picture is slightly out of focus (I'm still learning to use the telescope with my camera mount) and there are some visual artifacts from the lenses in the scope (the blueish glow on the left side of the Moon), but it's still awesome to look at the Moon like this.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JA85vm38HfSrHDiGTPi3Dc5SlhTzkauy8N1puU6xKKIxGThXRqwK7JvjFe16P3mI0IXrRqrfMOD0sgC2mtjp8hLsRSZIcz4R-9-13aYa6iumEjqPoxXN-zBDeVfzkx9GY7iYDFSyvbI/s1600/full+moon+apogee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JA85vm38HfSrHDiGTPi3Dc5SlhTzkauy8N1puU6xKKIxGThXRqwK7JvjFe16P3mI0IXrRqrfMOD0sgC2mtjp8hLsRSZIcz4R-9-13aYa6iumEjqPoxXN-zBDeVfzkx9GY7iYDFSyvbI/s400/full+moon+apogee.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full moon </td></tr>
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<b>Apogee</b> <br />
But there's something else about the current full moon; the Moon is currently at apogee, which is the farthest point on it's elliptic orbit around the Earth (see my <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/12/more-info-on-our-fantastic-moon.html">Moon trivia post</a> for more info).<br />
This means that the Moon is as (visually) small as it becomes making this the least brightest full moon possible. You probably won't notice it if you go outside though, the Moon is still plenty bright.<br />
<br />
The difference in (apparent) size between the size of the apogee and perigee (when it's closest) Moons is only around 10% and requires that you have two images to compare before you can really see it.<br />
Below you can see just that, pictures taken in 2010 by astronomer Anthony Ayiomamitis.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1355549975" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://www.perseus.gr/Images/lunar-apogee-perigee-2010.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Lunar-Scenes-Apo-Perigee-2010.htm">Picture from www.perseus.gr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-26240380495935286642011-10-08T22:34:00.000+02:002011-10-08T22:36:03.949+02:00The Draconid meteor shower is happening right nowIf you have clear skies were you live, now is a good time to go outside, face north and <a href="http://www.space.com/13214-draconid-meteor-shower-peaks-saturday-observing-tips.html">watch</a> the meteor shower in progress.<br />
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The one we are seeing right now is called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draconids">Draconids </a>because the meteors appear to come from the constellation Draco to the North.<br />
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It's <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/89660/observing-alert-draconid-meteor-shower-could-unleash-a-burst-of-activity-on-october-8/">peaking tonight</a> October 8th (actually right now) and we could see as many as 1000 meteors per hour.<br />
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I've been out watching for about 45 minutes and I've seen quite a few. Including one which lasted for 1-2 seconds and visibly broke into pieces as it burned up. Awesome as always :-)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_775667275" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/7552/i02/geminids-meteor-colorado-101214-02.jpg?1294512113" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_775667275">A Geminid meteor from Dec. 2010. Picture from </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_775667275">space.com</a><a href="http://www.space.com/13214-draconid-meteor-shower-peaks-saturday-observing-tips.html"><br /></a></td></tr>
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barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-75651800468870572862011-10-08T21:22:00.001+02:002011-10-08T21:28:39.910+02:00The Moon and the rainbowAs we were driving down the motorway today as the sun was setting and the rain had just stopped, we noticed a beautiful rainbow to the east, with a little twist.<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(as always, click the images for larger versions)</span></i><br />
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As we were looking for a place to stop and take some pictures, my girlfriend took this one out of the car window.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUu2KdDPEF6cy9unk59a8UhMeVlI0Jy44YT59yniNEsukJ5F_XbZuc-UkpB7FiS1WRPibpD_hKP4EszBHmrP4AmWPj3NlgF3S5gLMtqSdbXk-wx_IP4bwaagThpSmL6nVUgAyMZafeM4/s1600/moon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3b0oD6wyxWUOsDtZLUj23fnorXAcWshd7VIrqBTcrjsH7hsffcNFSeQDPfGoYbm6RvK2hoW3zj8NHqOINNfUzDWaIdYwl2510X15IfWPqG2Sawr6HqEA1N8QMOvjitEp8jGEdFyDqyfY/s1600/car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3b0oD6wyxWUOsDtZLUj23fnorXAcWshd7VIrqBTcrjsH7hsffcNFSeQDPfGoYbm6RvK2hoW3zj8NHqOINNfUzDWaIdYwl2510X15IfWPqG2Sawr6HqEA1N8QMOvjitEp8jGEdFyDqyfY/s400/car.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow at speed</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unlike most of the rainbows I've seen, this one didn't stop at the horizon. It continued a bit and almost appeared to end right next to the road we were on. Quite cool.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSUdEBtNiHZ7XSETI_PD4jG9IOVtgsO0vOCMu7yiQgn54e15IreiCQ1DuuaftDGlWuXMS2zbfyEnDR_j1aXwrZayIy_7brmI6bHuyyodxzZqW0-URkKE5JwE7_OEB5teNVvbXGZZD9tQ/s1600/car2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSUdEBtNiHZ7XSETI_PD4jG9IOVtgsO0vOCMu7yiQgn54e15IreiCQ1DuuaftDGlWuXMS2zbfyEnDR_j1aXwrZayIy_7brmI6bHuyyodxzZqW0-URkKE5JwE7_OEB5teNVvbXGZZD9tQ/s400/car2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rainbow appeared to end behind those bushes</td></tr>
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But that wasn't the coolest thing about this rainbow and it wasn't the reason we wanted to stop.<br />
No this rainbow had a companion which made the view spectacular:<br />
<a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/10/our-beautiful-moon-and-everything-about.html">The Moon</a> was peeking out behind the clouds right besides the rainbow.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj459Zqx0eB3HChYT517uUH7stiTa5MM9EeyI0ZM1Bf8HpA6R1NB70-Os3RTEBX_fxtpBLQjE9qa0Uw9cyx77oo_Zl95Dk-4UAWwt6c6M1QhVtfQUZtvSxwGFwMZ8dw-RNCKJg_A3W1p_k/s1600/moon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj459Zqx0eB3HChYT517uUH7stiTa5MM9EeyI0ZM1Bf8HpA6R1NB70-Os3RTEBX_fxtpBLQjE9qa0Uw9cyx77oo_Zl95Dk-4UAWwt6c6M1QhVtfQUZtvSxwGFwMZ8dw-RNCKJg_A3W1p_k/s400/moon1.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow with the Moon</td></tr>
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And here's a close-up. It isn't often you manage to capture the Moon inside a rainbow like this :-)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHupkmoks0Iw-bv2bPuOchjZYb0fHHpdtEh9euvQNXlXWy-O2GhK_A6J7koLIfDgXTIhlR1MqCkRKQx8v1fCl2jvtFycewfYzf0syt7f357r5cHZKXTSEfXdsbw9OSi2EAoqSZCWZwaO4/s1600/moon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHupkmoks0Iw-bv2bPuOchjZYb0fHHpdtEh9euvQNXlXWy-O2GhK_A6J7koLIfDgXTIhlR1MqCkRKQx8v1fCl2jvtFycewfYzf0syt7f357r5cHZKXTSEfXdsbw9OSi2EAoqSZCWZwaO4/s400/moon2.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow and the Moon close-up</td></tr>
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barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-14156445561095958062011-10-06T20:53:00.001+02:002011-10-06T20:53:47.141+02:00Book review: Arthur C. Clarke - The Collected StoriesIt's about time I started reviewing the books I read again and the last one I've read is a massive one, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke">Sir Arthur C. Clarke</a> called 'The Collected Stories'.<br />
It's a collection of almost all the shorter than novel stories written by the master science fiction writer and the book contains more than 100 stories and is almost 1000 pages long.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Stories-Arthur-C-Clarke/dp/0312878605"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d7/Collected_stories_clarke.jpg/200px-Collected_stories_clarke.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front cover (<i>image from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Collected_stories_clarke.jpg">Wikimedia</a></i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the author</b> <br />
You may have heard about the author in relation to the movie '<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/">2001: A Space Odyssey</a>', as the 'father' of modern science fiction or his <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7304852.stm">predictions</a> regarding things such as the communication satellite.<br />
But make no mistake, not only was he brilliant in his understanding of science and the future he was also an excellent short story writer, as you'll see in this book.<br />
He can create more suspense in a story which is only a couple of pages long, than some authors manage in an entire full length novel.<br />
And even after reading 100 stories he'll still manage to surprise you and give you that 'Bloody hell, I didn't see that coming'-feeling.<br />
<br />
He also manages to write 100+ stories which are different and refreshing all the way through. Not only are you guessing at what the story is about and how it will end, you are also being pulled into another exiting universe as each new story unfolds.<br />
<br />
Besides the short stories in this book, Sir Clarke has also written a large number of full length <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke_bibliography#Novels">novels</a> and non-fiction books. So if you aren't a fan of short stories (you will be after reading this book ;-) ), there's a lot more to him.<br />
<br />
<b>The stories</b><br />
I'm not going to give you a full synopsis of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Collected_Stories_of_Arthur_C._Clarke">all the stories</a> in the book (especially since many of them aren't much longer than your usual synopsis) and I'll just mention them in broad terms.<br />
<br />
But there's stories about war, love, exploration, monsters, crazy inventions, family, space, Earth, many of the planets and moons, teleportation and everything else you could want in a science fiction story.<br />
You'll meet many different intelligent species, experience time travel, supernovae exploding, alternative human races and history unfolding and ending.<br />
Of course the end of the world and the undoing of the universe is also here. <br />
And then you'll read the stories you never even imagined. <br />
<br />
In short, this book has everything. Including the longest science fiction story ever told (hint: it's infinitely long) and a story consisting of nothing more than a one page memo.<br />
<br />
<b>Recommendation</b><br />
In case you haven't noticed I really enjoyed reading this book and in case you like science fiction, I can highly recommend it.<br />
Unlike other 1000 pages sci-fi monsters (I have several I'll never complete), this one is easy to read in small instalments and therefore is a book you'll eventually finish. you don't have to remember what happen on page 71 to understand the dialogue on page 852; the two stories are most like completely unrelated (though some of the stories take place in the same universe or use the same starting point, they do not require that you read them in order (mostly)).<br />
<br />
So go get it, or one of the other many books written by Sir Arthur C. Clarke.<br />
<br />
<b>An alternative</b><br />
In case you want to start out a bit easier, you can do as I did and start with another short story collection by him.<br />
I started with one called '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sentinel-Arthur-C-Clarke/dp/0425061833">The Sentinel</a>' (which is also the name of one of Sir Clarke's most famous stories) which contains about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sentinel_%28anthology%29">12 stories</a> or so. barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-79765681278068321312011-10-01T18:01:00.000+02:002011-10-01T18:01:21.766+02:00A small update on the previous imagesI've spent some time going over <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/09/looking-for-supernova.html">the images</a> again, trying to improve the quality and comparing them with the charts at <a href="http://www.aavso.org/vsp">AAVSO</a> (enter 'SN 2011fe' as the name).<br />
But the amount of stars in my pictures are just to high and I have no idea what's going on.<br />
So I'm calling it quits for now. I consider this opportunity missed.<br />
<br />
<b>Black/White and levels improved</b><br />
I tried making the star patterns more visible and easier to compare to the charts, but the result is that the image is even more confusing. See for yourself below.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4-Rf6APHa9DSZ61X8pNnag3cnhU9KlSaSVWzUVa4RtiCrE2Px_OWEItnCmobAHOUqZjtL9fEQvmPfRrnCz4Jbo3LQYyugV8ZtGa2_ZFKjUhw9POaC2IINCVcng3_rmbF-fT37WxOElg/s1600/noiseless2-inv.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="1" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4-Rf6APHa9DSZ61X8pNnag3cnhU9KlSaSVWzUVa4RtiCrE2Px_OWEItnCmobAHOUqZjtL9fEQvmPfRrnCz4Jbo3LQYyugV8ZtGa2_ZFKjUhw9POaC2IINCVcng3_rmbF-fT37WxOElg/s400/noiseless2-inv.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B/W, inverse colour and grey levelled towards black</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Too many stars</b> <br />
As an example of the amount of stars in the pictures, here's the
bottom right part of the image above (only about 5% of the entire
picture!). I can count at least 40+ stars in the small picture (the first image is normal and the last image is inverse colour).<br />
<i>As usual, click the images below to see the large version.</i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWdgijTbxAJ4bDZLIGT0GCAZph0ffyVyXgOa8TBuOpJWXg-DDza0DCK6OsK_c00-bm1QxJkUJsIsbBCZw6xhMgORnMam2AHetSwrlpNFyqn9iGxR3S-V-IuuTsk1zThe_5nUGdTpKcaI/s1600/br.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWdgijTbxAJ4bDZLIGT0GCAZph0ffyVyXgOa8TBuOpJWXg-DDza0DCK6OsK_c00-bm1QxJkUJsIsbBCZw6xhMgORnMam2AHetSwrlpNFyqn9iGxR3S-V-IuuTsk1zThe_5nUGdTpKcaI/s400/br.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small part of the larger image</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlRnjndMpTUC1R0mgGAIJmOcLxNbEMtw0xAyJIWLzqmYbJ_33hfeeBHhlDrxXDp6KP9YCqJ-TIrk8FGflBNU34EzloQKN4XXyTeG2afvrnXdxaq_EJv8M7ZYjTzVZwpSsWMU_WIYf7d4/s1600/br-w.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlRnjndMpTUC1R0mgGAIJmOcLxNbEMtw0xAyJIWLzqmYbJ_33hfeeBHhlDrxXDp6KP9YCqJ-TIrk8FGflBNU34EzloQKN4XXyTeG2afvrnXdxaq_EJv8M7ZYjTzVZwpSsWMU_WIYf7d4/s400/br-w.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same image as an inverse colour picture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-19705794539932235152011-09-30T23:13:00.000+02:002011-10-01T17:22:49.949+02:00Looking for the supernovaI went outside to have another look for the <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/88617/how-to-see-a-supernova-from-your-backyard-this-weekend/">recent supernova</a> in the Pinwheel Galaxy yesterday, as the viewing conditions were still quite good. And also because the supernova is <a href="http://www.aavso.org/lcg/plot?auid=000-BKD-525&starname=SN%202011FE&lastdays=42&start=&stop=2455837.71146&obscode=&obscode_symbol=2&obstotals=yes&calendar=calendar&forcetics=&grid=on&visual=on&r=on&bband=on&v=on&pointsize=1&width=900&height=600&mag1=&mag2=&mean=&vmean=">starting to dim</a> again.<br />
<br />
In order to not disappoint you completely, I'll begin with an amazing picture of the galaxy and supernova.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rca-omsi.org/2011-09-08_sn101.htm" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauHS9l6hzBRfqmgk1Adc1u9Ww8Qv6MkYqt45CtKBY3D_Uer6Oxdx2jrQdASLzqFXBscChJnp0aMg7H1Pqs_6Q2gUepbKdbkYus0i8nmDP17iMBfmXWO0HRqURIoxm8ys2motp09Ot7Hs/s320/2011-09-08_sn101.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture from <a href="http://www.rca-omsi.org/2011-09-08_sn101.htm">Rose City Astronomers</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>New instructions</b><br />
Having failed to follow the <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2011/09/how_to_see_the_closest_superno.php">instructions from 'Starts with a bang'</a> I decided to try to follow the instructions at Sky & Telescope on their '<a href="http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance">This Week's Sky at a Glance</a>' page.<br />
Because that page is updated every week, I'll repost the instructions here.<br />
<blockquote>
To identify which tiny speck is the supernova, use the <a href="http://www.aavso.org/vsp" target="new_window">comparison-star charts</a>
that you can generate courtesy of the American Association of Variable
Star Observers. Enter the star name SN 2011fe, and choose the
"predefined chart scales" A, B, and C. Print out all three. The two
brightest stars on the "A" chart are the last two stars in the the Big
Dipper's handle. </blockquote>
I did just that and followed the instructions. I managed to find the place where the galaxy is supposed to be and took a couple of pictures through the telescope.<br />
<br />
<b>The pictures</b><br />
Unfortunately the only camera I have, which fits on the camera mount, is not that light sensitive I feared that nothing would be clearly visible and I wouldn't be able to see the stars.<br />
It turned out to be quite the opposite. I've spent 2 hours looking at the pictures and I've decided to give up; I have no idea were the supernova is supposed to be in the pictures.<br />
I'm not 100% sure that the pictures are of the correct small patch of sky but almost. So if you are feeling lucky or you are extremely familiar with the stars around the Pinwheel Galaxy go right ahead :-)<br />
<br />
<br />
The pictures will appear to be almost completely dark unless you click the images to see the large full size pictures.<br />
<br />
<i>I've cleaned up the noise on the images a bit and converted them to black/white.</i><br />
<i>Up in the images is towards Zenith and I'm at around 56° 00 N, 10 º 00 E.</i><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RinJInig77vNDML4s26RB7RTSdrab4IgmLO3GenctUqe_AtXK-K5C7I8RdQ_eb95QT8TLa_fONFFUGZBtGp60yBETHiG5-GvNL1YZtLz0vzwpZM5UGhQnxwsZ6twcVdUHvkbSC5EDO4/s1600/noiseless.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RinJInig77vNDML4s26RB7RTSdrab4IgmLO3GenctUqe_AtXK-K5C7I8RdQ_eb95QT8TLa_fONFFUGZBtGp60yBETHiG5-GvNL1YZtLz0vzwpZM5UGhQnxwsZ6twcVdUHvkbSC5EDO4/s400/noiseless.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mnaGb6vpMW9Ew6kvwN5Tkod4DYCZ441pRExtCB5X7IOMpKSeqXKcJxs-yq0VJGCwNwT7kU5gjPtmXRy8oLviBpnntfbtqjzEbYr3HQX0spLeY4WsNGXQDKSYt5K7Gql1me03bDcnGW4/s1600/noiseless2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mnaGb6vpMW9Ew6kvwN5Tkod4DYCZ441pRExtCB5X7IOMpKSeqXKcJxs-yq0VJGCwNwT7kU5gjPtmXRy8oLviBpnntfbtqjzEbYr3HQX0spLeY4WsNGXQDKSYt5K7Gql1me03bDcnGW4/s400/noiseless2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-14390895269583879892011-09-28T20:51:00.000+02:002011-09-28T21:47:34.950+02:00Setting up the telescope againIt's been a long time since I last posted anything about my <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/01/telescope-assembled.html">telescope</a> and the only excuse I have is that I've been busy lately.<br />
But yesterday I finally managed to get it reassembled and attached my new camera mount to it. So far I have mounted a small compact camera to it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWQhSlWpYYgEFf5MD-VTJp2kqvkDK6u5xX4HWSOrboMOOBjKtJMhxGrHSICRFbR209v3y1ZPTsutBOmDOLSPJ8tHjsM6FKo81tlbJXQZ_3vajc6KLF4yw7LGtN_2LWEPHy9wXCNAfqEQ/s800/IMG_20110928_201927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWQhSlWpYYgEFf5MD-VTJp2kqvkDK6u5xX4HWSOrboMOOBjKtJMhxGrHSICRFbR209v3y1ZPTsutBOmDOLSPJ8tHjsM6FKo81tlbJXQZ_3vajc6KLF4yw7LGtN_2LWEPHy9wXCNAfqEQ/s400/IMG_20110928_201927.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telescope with a camera mount</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<b>My first astrophotography</b> <br />
At first I was just playing around trying to focus while the camera is mounted (it blocks my view through the telescope for obvious reasons) and pointed the telescope at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula">Orion Nebula</a> and just took a picture. It didn't work that well, so I fiddled around with the scope a bit and noticed something moving quite rapidly across the sky in my line of sight. I waited until it passed in my view and clicked the camera for a 2 second exposure.<br />
Although very much out of focus, it was still quite cool to capture something moving on my first astrophotography :)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6lCCzZRLJDPSXE6mPSQkTD6cCeGyDJcVlIcui9_-9rFVhA9qdKkX1KSZVnmFMvixcvggJ6pq3TXYNMzVB__jl8_g8fifhE44S7aIOQiATrOQmEg_nzj1W0sdHky70xNvKp0gIytQBOk/s1600/DSCF0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6lCCzZRLJDPSXE6mPSQkTD6cCeGyDJcVlIcui9_-9rFVhA9qdKkX1KSZVnmFMvixcvggJ6pq3TXYNMzVB__jl8_g8fifhE44S7aIOQiATrOQmEg_nzj1W0sdHky70xNvKp0gIytQBOk/s400/DSCF0002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SL-16 R/B moving across the sky</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In case you are wondering it was the <a href="http://www.heavens-above.com/satinfo.aspx?SatID=27006&lat=0&lng=0&alt=0&loc=unspecified&TZ=cet">SL-16 R/B</a> (the body of a rocket launched in 1999 by the interim coalition of states from the former USSR).<br />
<br />
<b>Evening shots</b><br />
Later that evening I decided to go out and see if I could find the <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/88617/how-to-see-a-supernova-from-your-backyard-this-weekend/">recent supernova</a> in the Pinwheel Galaxy. I tried to follow the <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2011/09/how_to_see_the_closest_superno.php">instructions from 'Starts with a bang'</a> but the clouds quickly filled that part of the sky and made it impossible.<br />
<br />
So I turned my attention to Jupiter (which is very clearly visible in the nights sky towards the east).<br />
The skies were clear enough that I could see the two large <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_97.html">red bands</a> above and below the equator of the planet. Unfortunately the camera I'm using wasn't able to capture that magnificent sight and the details on the planet ended up being washed out. But at least the four <span class="st">Galilean <i></i></span> moons were clearly visible :)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2pNLu0gwywTTcWPaux0PIvvKKGGSyOc_wsE-Z6EZIcXjRb7IgFeGt5aFL5tT5jqZJZIzyy-M4s8aH9OfUy2Ij9F0C9mouC3scHG1RB1Jk2QnMoNATIio0X7ZArX9xnYaH9GYfCG8yd8/s1600/DSCF0011+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2pNLu0gwywTTcWPaux0PIvvKKGGSyOc_wsE-Z6EZIcXjRb7IgFeGt5aFL5tT5jqZJZIzyy-M4s8aH9OfUy2Ij9F0C9mouC3scHG1RB1Jk2QnMoNATIio0X7ZArX9xnYaH9GYfCG8yd8/s400/DSCF0011+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jupiter and the four Galilean moons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That's it for now but stay tuned for more (and much better) pictures over the next couple of weeks.<br />
<br />barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-17758064629556455442011-08-13T17:52:00.000+02:002011-08-13T17:52:41.659+02:00Meteor shower last nightI forgot to post a heads-up yesterday about the <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/08/perseid-meteor-shower-is-coming-up.html">meteor shower</a> peaking last night.<br />
But it did. So there.<br />
If you were outside last night, and you managed to have a cloudless sky, you should have been able to see some meteors.<br />
<br />
Even though the <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/10/our-beautiful-moon-and-everything-about_25.html">full moon</a> messed things up a bit, the part of the sky that was facing away from the Moon was still fairly dark.<br />
I only had time to go and watch for about 15 minutes (at around midnight) but I managed to see several meteors, one of them very long (it seemed to last at least a full second) and very bright.<br />
So it was a rather successful meteorwatch from my end :-)<br />
<br />
Hope you all had a good meteor shower! barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-30298851807788567802011-08-03T22:18:00.001+02:002011-08-04T06:33:41.808+02:00The Perseid meteor shower is coming upAs it does every year from July to August, with peak activity around August the 12-13th.<br />
<br />
When I went and <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/08/day-in-sky.html">watched the shower last year</a> with my girlfriend, we saw our first "real" meteor burn up in the atmosphere.<br />
So if possible, try and watch the skies on the night between August 12 and 13.<br />
Unfortunately this year we won't be as lucky as last year where we had a <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/10/our-beautiful-moon-and-everything-about_25.html">new Moon</a> at the time of the shower. This year there will be a full Moon on that exact day, so the meteor shower will be difficult to watch.<br />
So remember to look at the section of sky that is opposite of the Moon. <br />
<br />
But that shouldn't stop you from trying, I know I'll try to see some anyway :-)<br />
<br />
The radiant of the Perseids (where the meteors will all appear to originate) is located just below the famous 'W'-shape of Cassiopeia.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.astronomy.org/StarWatch/August/index-8-10.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Rf6Ik098VCU2l6I-6tax5OBvbxWMARNR3PLsF912oaxbGhccRheSWhyphenhyphenA4i64KuKmzd1INrEA6Ydwo2QXlstdS9kl5v-4wGpjL8bxbzXvikDeF96s3Q4FuQsJRQEoCBVIR7KQAvQ9iHI/s400/8-10-perseid-radiant.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>The meteors will appear to come from the marked location (radiant)<br />
Image is from <a href="http://www.astronomy.org/StarWatch/August/index-8-10.html">astronomy.org</a> (and is from last years shower)</i></div><br />
<b>General Information</b> <br />
I wrote about the Perseid shower <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/08/perseid-meteor-shower-coming-up.html">last year</a> and I'll just repost my general information about it below with minor rewrites (it is still quite relevant as the meteor showers don't change much from year to year):<br />
<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/87922/meteorwatch-is-coming-look-for-perseids-with-the-rest-of-the-world/">The meteor shower</a> is caused by the Earth passing through a belt of dust and debris left by the comet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/109P/Swift-Tuttle">109P/Swift-Tuttle</a> as it makes its way around the Sun every 135 years or so. The tail you always see in images of comets is dust and gas which is being blown off the comet as the Sun heats it up as it comes closer. The dust then orbits the sun in a wide belt, which the Earth passes through every year in August.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=10093">The meteors</a> mostly consists of tiny (less than 1 gram) particles which enter the Earth's atmosphere at 200000 km/h and burn up far above the surface (most burn up 80 km above the surface). So don't worry about getting hit by giant boulders ;-)<strike> We can expect as much as 100 meteors per hour</strike> Due to the full moon this year we can expect as little as <a href="http://www.planetarium.montreal.qc.ca/Information/Dossiers/Perseides/index_a.html">10 visible meteors</a> per hour.</blockquote>barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-56026013499107576242011-07-22T10:34:00.000+02:002011-07-22T10:34:35.108+02:00End of the Shuttle programThe Shuttle program <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html">ended yesterday</a> with the final landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.<br />
I've posted about the <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/search/label/shuttle">Shuttle program</a> and the impending cancellation of it before but this time it is done; the shuttles will fly no more and an era has come to an end.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/180842main_201107210002HQ.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/180842main_201107210002HQ.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantis landing at Kennedy Space Center for the last time</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The Bad Astronomer <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/07/21/a-shuttle-tribute/">posted a link</a> to a very nice Shuttle tribute video, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II7QBLt36xo&hd=1">which you can see here</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>I apologize for the long break from the last post but I became a father for the first time in April and haven't really had the time to post anything since.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>I'll try to keep up with the latest in space news again :-)</i></span>barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-43252007407102993722011-03-07T21:58:00.002+01:002011-03-08T07:49:42.914+01:00Beautiful skies outside the cityAs I mentioned in an <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/02/im-moving.html">earlier post</a> I recently moved out of the large city I've been living in for the last 10 years.<br />
I didn't move far away (about 10 km) but the difference in the sky is amazing. I now live on the outskirts of a fairly small town and with my back to it there is very little <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/01/light-pollution.html">light pollution</a> to obscure the night sky.<br />
<br />
Even though it's fairly early in the evening (around 9:30 in the evening) I was still able to capture this amazing picture of the sky (click to embiggen, although I had to resize the image to reduce the file size).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogstuff.barmonger.org/img/no_pol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogstuff.barmonger.org/tmb/no_pol.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
It's a 30 second exposure so the stars aren't as clearly defined as I'd like, but they do move a bit during that short interval. I'll take some better images at a later time, but this was mostly to illustrate the difference between my prvious home and here.<br />
You can see how polluted the sky was at my previous home in my post about <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/01/light-pollution.html">light pollution</a> where the 5 second exposure (second to last image) contains barely any stars at all.<br />
<br />
This is going to be awesome.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-88554457288272136102011-02-24T09:04:00.002+01:002011-02-28T20:35:49.602+01:00Shuttle launch tonightI wrote about the <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/11/discovery-no-more.html">last mission for the Discovery</a> space shuttle November last year.<br />
The launch was cancelled and has been postponed for several months now.<br />
But now all the problems with the external tank have been fixed and the shuttle has been rolled out on the launch pad in preparation for the <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/02/19/discoverys-last-voyage-is-go-for-february-24/">launch tonight</a>.<br />
<br />
The launch will be broadcast live on <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html">NASA TV</a> and is scheduled for 22:50 CET tonight (you can see the official countdown clock at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html">the NASA shuttle site</a>).<br />
<br />
As I mentioned in the previous post this is going to be the last flight of the Discovery and the third-to-last flight of the entire Shuttle program. Hopefully we can make something else just as cool as this to get more stuff into space.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_543618970"><br />
</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1870.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/519531main_discovery_at_pad_full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Pictured: 2 million tons of awesome</i></div>barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-76091291424318195792011-02-10T21:51:00.000+01:002011-02-10T21:51:07.131+01:00Outbreak of measles in DenmarkYesterday the Danish Board of Health issued a warning about a relatively large <a href="http://jp.dk/uknews/article2334382.ece">outbreak of Measles</a> in Denmark (<i>some of the links in this post may be in Danish</i>).<br />
So far 6 people have been diagnosed during the last two weeks and compared to last year with only 5 measles incidents in total, this is huge. And it could potentially lead to more cases if an infected person has managed to evade quarantine (inadvertently).<br />
The <a href="http://www.ssi.dk/Aktuelt/Nyheder/2011/2011_maeslinger.aspx">infected persons</a> are primarily unvaccinated young adults<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i></i></span>. <br />
<br />
The measles may not immediately cause a concern as it is most often not fatal, but it can be fatal and globally it is a <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/index.html">great concern</a>. And unless we take measures to stay protected it may become a problem here as well.<br />
<br />
<b>Cause</b><br />
So far I have no idea what caused this but there seems to be a decline in vaccination <a href="http://www.ssi.dk/Aktuelt/Nyhedsbreve/EPI-NYT/%7E/media/Indhold/DK%20-%20dansk/Aktuelt/Nyhedsbreve/EPI-NYT/EPI-NYT-Arkiv/2007/2007%20PDF/EPI-NYT%20-%202007%20-%20uge%206.ashx">levels</a> in Denmark and the <a href="http://www.dr.dk/sundhed/Sygdom/Artikler/2010/0427112409.htm">current levels of vaccination</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine">MMR</a> vaccine is around 85% (it's called MFR in Danish).<br />
Why this is, I don't know, but a lot of <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/05/04/antivax-kills/">scary</a>, <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/02/27/jenny-mccarthy-still-thinks-vaccines-cause-autism/">uninformed</a> and <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/05/breaking-bmj-calls-andrew-wakefield-a-fraud/">malicious</a> people have been propagating the lie that the MMR vaccine may be a cause of autism. This is wrong, the MMR vaccine <a href="http://www.ssi.dk/Aktuelt/Nyhedsbreve/EPI-NYT/%7E/media/Indhold/DK%20-%20dansk/Aktuelt/Nyhedsbreve/EPI-NYT/EPI-NYT-Arkiv/2008/2008%20PDF/EPI-NYT%20-%202008%20-%20uge%2014.ashx">does</a> <a href="http://www.ugeskriftet.dk/portal/page/portal/LAEGERDK/UGESKRIFT_FOR_LAEGER/Artikelvisning?pUrl=/UGESKRIFT_FOR_LAEGER/TIDLIGERE_NUMRE/2002/UFL_2002_49/UFL__2002_49_40741">NOT</a> cause <a href="http://www.autismeforening.dk/nyhedSe.aspx?id=667&u=56">autism</a>. But the scaremongering has caused a <a href="http://www.ssi.dk/Aktuelt/Nyhedsbreve/EPI-NYT/%7E/media/Indhold/DK%20-%20dansk/Aktuelt/Nyhedsbreve/EPI-NYT/EPI-NYT-Arkiv/2008/2008%20PDF/EPI-NYT%20-%202008%20-%20uge%2014.ashx">drop in vaccination levels</a> as parents become afraid.<br />
<br />
So unless there is a medical reason (allergies, immune deficiencies, other illnesses) make sure your children are vaccinated. If you haven't been vaccinated yourself (and you've never had the measles) go see your doctor and get the shot.<br />
<br />
<b>Why vaccinate?</b><br />
To protect yourself, your children and everyone around you.<br />
Vaccinations will allow your immune system to more effectively protect against the virus and give you a high (95% or so) chance to resist infection.<br />
Because the protection isn't 100% certain and because some people cannot get the vaccination for medical reasons, it is so much more important that those who can get it, do so.<br />
<br />
This is because of an effect called '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity">herd immunity</a>' which is just that. Through high rates of vaccinations throughout the community (or herd) the entire herd becomes immune as there are no places for the virus to gain a foothold.<br />
Even if someone becomes infected the virus is unable to spread throughout the herd, protecting even those who aren't immune.<br />
If more people decide against vaccinations the herd immunity breaks down. Generally anywhere between 80-90% vaccination coverage is enough. But as the average vaccination rate drops, local pockets of entirely unvaccinated subgroups emerge. And in these groups it is possible for the virus to gain a strong presence and eventually begin infecting even the vaccinated areas.<br />
<br />
Herd immunity is important for our survival and vaccinations is the way to obtain it.<br />
<a href="http://www.who.int/features/qa/53/en/index.html">Through vaccinations</a> the WHO has reduced the global death toll from measles from more than 750.000 to less than 200.000 in just seven years.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-1834032406735053002011-02-07T23:03:00.000+01:002011-02-07T23:03:42.549+01:00I'm movingNot the blog, it will stay right where it is.<br />
But in meatspace I'm moving to a new house about 8 kilometres or so further out of the city.<br />
So I won't make as many posts during the next few weeks (and it is also the reason for my lack of posts lately).<br />
<br />
I have a few post ideas ready but I might not be able to write about it very soon, and during the actual move (we began properly last weekend and will end some time next week) I might not be able to write at all.<br />
<br />
But the fact that there is a lot less <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/01/light-pollution.html">light pollution</a> where I'm moving and hills and open fields will hopefully allow me to make a lot of astrophotography and use my<a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/01/first-evening-with-my-telescope.html"> telescope</a> a lot more. But more on that after the move.<br />
<br />
Thank you for reading so far.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-24639249778630386092011-01-28T18:22:00.004+01:002011-02-04T22:21:19.421+01:00Space Shuttle Challenger25 years ago today the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster">Challenger disaster</a> took the lives of seven American astronauts. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVJF1xxI_OPwpfvNTPGNBYav0tOJJ2ApnqgLs0Fph2yiWSx_cmh5niuTbFGcwbBdjQoBev-jWlQFUZ4me3yu5cRjKqCFOhw6WAEWIZczth5lCN3u4clnskGIoyvRflmZTXlaqfuQeyG4/s1600/750px-Challenger_flight_51-l_crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVJF1xxI_OPwpfvNTPGNBYav0tOJJ2ApnqgLs0Fph2yiWSx_cmh5niuTbFGcwbBdjQoBev-jWlQFUZ4me3yu5cRjKqCFOhw6WAEWIZczth5lCN3u4clnskGIoyvRflmZTXlaqfuQeyG4/s320/750px-Challenger_flight_51-l_crew.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">In the back row from left to right: Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, and Judy Resnik.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> In the front row from left to right: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.</span></i></div><br />
On the 28th of January 1986 the space shuttle Challenger disintegrated only 73 seconds after lift off killing the entire crew of seven.<br />
I won't go into much details about the disaster in this post you can find that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster">elsewhere</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtKwm59rvTkx1LBdQEdxeKU96my0bIU0CgKATYke7zH1v1oL4m5bMFBl7MoKHGvIP09C8cByCRLEmLkzwYMgMSTK-sToSUyBM3-sX5CVVT5PMtAdTItGnAtcrLigZ9adGjDZulIponVfI/s1600/220px-Challenger_explosion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtKwm59rvTkx1LBdQEdxeKU96my0bIU0CgKATYke7zH1v1oL4m5bMFBl7MoKHGvIP09C8cByCRLEmLkzwYMgMSTK-sToSUyBM3-sX5CVVT5PMtAdTItGnAtcrLigZ9adGjDZulIponVfI/s320/220px-Challenger_explosion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Disaster.</i></div><br />
This is merely a post to <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/27/apollo-1-challenger-columbia-and-those-who-sacrifice-for-the-stars/">remember the sacrifices</a> that have been made in order for mankind to begin its journey into space and to <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/82916/challenger-25-years-later-statements-of-remembrance/">honour the brave people</a> who dare venture into space on behalf of all of us even though it may cost them their lives.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/dor11/">Day of Remembrance</a> (yesterday actually) is an annual event to honour the crews and families that paid the ultimate price;<br />
<b>Apollo 1</b> (January 27, 1967), <b>Challenger </b>(January 28, 1986)<b> </b>and <b>Columbia </b>(February 1st, 2003).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/red_and_rover.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4kNkFmbNJhlxTNC8aOqsFCTj0mOThzmf2E4dmzjVRMrW2Tk7RQ7PoM1KULRbWCd339E7R8n4tqOnG4PIX0nfcNZZZyadApgBvrQvNjiXmz13khI3V9dee-8MHPrSqIUBzX9cwdQlqQE/s400/512912main_red_rover_4x3_946-710.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Picture from 'Red and Rover'</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I was 6½ at the time of the disaster but I still remember it vividly. Back then shuttle launches were covered much more intensely on the news so we were all watching.<br />
The destruction of the shuttle really left an impact. Something I'll never forget.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-12740141060930154542011-01-27T23:26:00.001+01:002011-01-27T23:28:17.161+01:00Light pollutionYou might have been wondering what this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution">light pollution</a> I'm always complaining about is.<br />
<br />
If you don't live in a larger town or city your night sky will be almost black and 100s of stars and nebulae will be visible. You might even be able to see the Milky Way. To some degree you'll be able to see a sky like the picture below.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.astropix.com/HTML/H_OTHER/SATPOL1.HTM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib41gY6NQEq6JIbtN2o8S5DpytWw_TdeTR_WUII-DkUjqMzNdkBUBVyNNxv4hpkrOM7OB73KL5wqVR7ipIz2Q1NWKbbCu6zoqbdKxTBCYnYQPFFDKBa-v2xGj9_WjLWAsD5HU-hpB9Pe0/s320/LP1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Picture from <a href="http://astropix.com/">astropix.com</a></i></div><br />
As the size of the city grows you'll be able to see less and less of the night sky because the lighting in the city will be reflected off of the sky. You'll usually see it as a yellow or white glow on the sky if you live in or near the city or you are observing the sky over the city beyond the horizon.<br />
In addition the more moisture is in the air the worse it gets as the water reflects the light back even more than the air does on its own.<br />
The above picture links to a page on <a href="http://astropix.com/">astropix.com</a> <a href="http://www.astropix.com/HTML/H_OTHER/SATPOL1.HTM">discussing light pollution</a> and what you can do to avoid it when taking pictures of the sky (with examples of different levels of light pollution). <br />
<br />
The Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpstanley/">jpstanley</a> uploaded an amazing comparison between the sky with no light pollution (top) and heavy light pollution (bottom). The picture really demonstrates just how much of the sky us city dwellers miss.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/79297308@N00/1035660145" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0nvVInsKefhYUWR3cWKYbZXZtUCqDT2k3vX5tt_1Qp42_bC-GDR4IstgPbqKyw9n6eH0TVMF2l8_JCYVwRbOKPGb2LFg2j0aIfE2_4NNyZdj4oC1d13MyOMI0k_rYSw1bNuqSeHWgIs/s400/1035660145_fb88b22be6_z.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Click the image to go to Flickr and see the much larger version</i></div><br />
<b>Where I live</b> <br />
Where I live a clear night like tonight (where there are no visible clouds) looks like the picture below on a 5 second exposure. It's not really that bad today, but this is as clear as it gets.<br />
I've marked some of the visible stars with a circle but as you can see even after 5 seconds not that many stars are visible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogstuff.barmonger.org/img/light_less.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://blogstuff.barmonger.org/tmb/light_less.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
On a mildly cloudy night it looks like pictured below. This is a 2.5 second exposure and as you can see the entire sky has this annoying yellow glow to it. In the background some small city is lighting up the horizon like a huge floodlight.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogstuff.barmonger.org/img/light_pollution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://blogstuff.barmonger.org/tmb/light_pollution.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This is why I can't really use my telescope that much and why I can't get clear pictures of anything in the sky. At least until I move out of this city in about 3 weeks.<br />
Oh, light pollution how I hate thee.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-21245719812017172852011-01-23T22:09:00.002+01:002011-01-29T19:55:29.668+01:00The 10:23 Challenge 2011<b>Homeopathy - There's nothing in it.</b> <br />
Last year around this time <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/01/1023-campaign.html">I wrote</a> about a campaign called '10:23'.<br />
It was a campaign to raise awareness of the scam that is homeopathic "medicine" and to protest Boots' continued endorsement of homeopathy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.1023.org.uk/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.1023.org.uk/media/int/logo.png" /></a></div><br />
<br />
This year the campaign has expanded a lot and currently includes events in more than 50 cities in more than 20 countries (as far as I know there is no event in Denmark).<br />
It will take place on the weekend of February 5-6. It culminates on February 6th at the <a href="http://qedcon.org/xIkS" target="_blank">QED conference</a> in Manchester. <br />
The 2011 challenge aims to further raise awareness and to inform the public that homeopathy is a scam and the "remedies" do not contain anything but sugar and water.<br />
<br />
You can follow the campaign at <a href="http://www.1023.org.uk/">www.1023.org.uk</a><br />
Please help spread the word. <br />
<br />
<b>What is homeopathy?</b><br />
In case you are wondering what homeopathy is I gave an explanation last year (you can see it <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/01/1023-campaign.html">here</a>) and the official 10:23 site has an explanation <a href="http://www.1023.org.uk/what-is-homeopathy.php">here</a>. I'll give a short explanation below as well.<br />
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But the essence of homeopathy is two-fold:<br />
1) 'Like cures like' (law of similars)<br />
2) Dilution of remedies (law of infinitesimals)<br />
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The first point is basically that whatever caused your illness will also cure it.<br />
You got poisoned? Drink some poison.<br />
Can't sleep? Have some caffeine.<br />
Etc.<br />
This is completely bollocks of course, but the homeopaths don't care.<br />
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The second point is the most commonly associated with homeopathy; extremely diluted solutions.<br />
And by extremely I mean extreme beyond comprehension. The "remedies" are labelled with a number and either an X or a C.<br />
X indicates a ten times dilution, C is 100. The number before the letter indicates the number of dilutions.<br />
So a 9X dilution is diluted to 1/10th 9 times resulting in a solution which contains 1 billionth of the original substance.<br />
9C is a 1/100th dilution 9 times or 1 billionth of a billionth.<br />
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Homeopathic remedies are often sold as 6C (1000th of a billionth of the original solution) or 30C.<br />
At these levels of dilution there is NOTHING left of the original substance. They are selling water.<br />
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Yet the homeopaths claim that the more diluted the "remedy" is the more potent it is. Unlike normal people who knows that diluting something makes it weaker and less potent.<br />
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<b>What's the harm? </b><br />
The problem is that the scammers sell their water with claims of miraculous cures for pretty much any illness. And also with claims that 'Big Pharma' is trying to kill us all. So you have to stop taking "western" medicine (or conventional medicine) and start using homeopathy because there are no side effects and they can cure anything.<br />
The harm is of course that people will <a href="http://www.1023.org.uk/whats-the-harm-in-homeopathy.php">follow this advice</a> and end up <a href="http://whatstheharm.net/homeopathy.html">killing/harming</a> themselves and others. This has to be stopped and people must be informed that homeopathy has nothing in it.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-78563347397050424342011-01-22T17:41:00.003+01:002011-01-22T18:10:27.386+01:00NASA´s Nanosail-D rediscoveredIn November last year NASA launched a small satellite called Nanosail-D into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit">low Earth orbit</a> (LEO).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/nanosaild.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglowIyDhbOAdogfHhFeiflgfPIRCuPSgpkpnwStwQoQNJOYXiGeJ5Xuj4YCvtOoA3nNkdo0yCXjP4HIyRtyfdqqb7NLZrspWeVyGlW_AsK8ELdRZZy7HleB_2Ttiy7glAQ68rwJ-rBzgo/s320/475897main_080421-Earth%252BSail_3023x2006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image courtesy of NASA</i></span> </div><br />
<b>Mission</b> <br />
The objective of the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/nanosaild.html">mission</a> is to test the possibility of using solar sails to slow down satellites in LEO as they are taken out of commission. As it is now the satellites are required to use boosters to manoeuvre into a lower orbit where they can burn up, which means that satellites must launch with extra useless weight (the fuel required to slow down the satellite).<br />
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Instead of using boosters in the future satellites can launch with a light weight solar sail which they can use to slow down (the atmosphere is dense enough in LEO to slow down the satellites).<br />
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You might have heard of solar sails in other places but they are usually mentioned as a means of propulsion and not braking. Such as <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/06/jaxa-and-cool-japanese-science.html">the Japanese IKARUS mission</a> which is on its way to Venus.<br />
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<b>Problems</b><br />
The reason the title of this post is '<i>..rediscovered</i>' is because shortly after the satellite was supposed to be ejected from the <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/81416/nasas-nanosail-d-released-into-the-winds-of-space/">parent vehicle</a> (on December 6th) contact with the satellite <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/12/14/spacecraft-awol-where-is-nasas-new-solar-sail">was lost</a> and NASA was unable to relocate it. NASA <a href="http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-01/nasa-seeks-help-ham-radio-operators-locate-its-missing-nanosatellite">asked</a> amateur radio users all over the world for help in locating the tiny satellite by listening for its <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2011/11-009.html">beacon signal</a>.<br />
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Later is was discovered that the satellite might not have ejected properly from the parent and that might have been the cause for the loss of contact. On January 19th (this year) Nanosail-D was <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/82647/its-alive-nanosail-d-suddenly-and-spontaneously-comes-back-to-life/">suddenly ejected</a> from the parent and the 3 day timer to sail unfolding could begin.<br />
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<b>Success!</b><br />
And today <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/82733/success-nanosail-d-deploys/">the sail unfolded</a> and the very first solar sail in LEO had been deployed.<br />
The satellite is going to stay in orbit between 2 and 4 months until it burns up in the atmosphere.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-53043892189149535982011-01-19T22:13:00.005+01:002011-01-23T17:59:32.956+01:00First evening with my new telescopeAt last a cloudless evening so I could get my <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/01/telescope-assembled.html">new telescope</a> properly set up. I've never used one before so all the dials and gears and whatnot was all kind off confusing.<br />
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Reading the manual and browsing through the user guide helped somewhat, but remembering the 'leftover' items from the assembly helped even more. I can now also adjust the altitude of the telescope ;-)<br />
And turning the finderscope (red dot sight) the right way around also helped a lot. After aligning it with the tube I'm now able to aim the telescope at pretty much anything I can see within seconds.<br />
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<b>Jupiter</b><br />
I managed to get a great view of Jupiter and the 3 of the 4 largest <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/09/more-stargazing-and-pictures-of-jupiter.html">moons</a> (Io was behind Jupiter at the time) and I was amazed at how cool it looks through a telescope. Instead of being just a blurry dot in the sky, the planet and the moons were very clear and easily separable.<br />
It was quite early in the evening at this point and not much else was visible from where I was.<br />
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<b>The Moon</b> <br />
Except of course for the full <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2010/10/our-beautiful-moon-and-everything-about.html">moon</a> which is always amazing. Observing the moon at high magnifications is almost painful when it is this bright. It's incredible.<br />
The telescope did give me an amazing view of the moon though and I know I'm going to spend a lot of time staring at the Moon through the scope.<br />
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But a full moon tends to screw up things when you want to look at the sky. The extreme brightness of the moon obscures everything else (except for the brightest objects). Combined with the ever-present yellow haze of the city and I decided to wait until I've moved further away (in a month or so).<br />
Just look at how clearly the clouds are visible in this picture (taken at about 22:10). The moon lights up most of the the sky in the picture (which was taken through a window), where the moon is the huge white blob at the top.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYRfwaijCorp3M095EUWVSnp0lsXP_-HVhGQJmpBqPrL_sXXAb-sU8GDt0EaXJ-4A4aUpp_B4WEv_y-kH25WujRB_4hYLeHAbt03AMFNN2krenWI284Wb6EaBqdXg2Ms-gwXSpinwq9A/s1600/bright_moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYRfwaijCorp3M095EUWVSnp0lsXP_-HVhGQJmpBqPrL_sXXAb-sU8GDt0EaXJ-4A4aUpp_B4WEv_y-kH25WujRB_4hYLeHAbt03AMFNN2krenWI284Wb6EaBqdXg2Ms-gwXSpinwq9A/s320/bright_moon.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-62942855107636330342011-01-18T21:33:00.003+01:002011-01-18T21:36:12.010+01:00Amazing high def shuttle launch video (with commentary)I saw a blog post the other day made by <a href="http://amandabauer.blogspot.com/">astropixie</a> entitled '<a href="http://amandabauer.blogspot.com/2011/01/understanding-space-shuttles.html">understanding the space shuttles</a>' (astropixie is one of the blogs in my blogroll on the right).<br />
It was about a Youtube video uploaded by NASA in December which features a lot of high definition slow motion video taken from the many launch cameras at the shuttle launch site (astropixie links to a lower resolution video, so watch the one below instead).<br />
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The video is made by Matt Melis at the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/home/index.html">Glenn Research Center</a>. One of the best things about the video (apart from the incredible footage) is the fact that Matt and another engineer (Kevin Burke) narrates the video and explains what is going on, mentioning many cool things you might miss if you just watch the video.<br />
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The video material is absolutely amazing and the many cameras show the launch from every angle imaginable showing you a lot of cool stuff you didn't know about the launches. The video is composed of footage from three space shuttle missions: STS-114, STS-117, and STS-124.<br />
Do yourself a favour and watch it full screen in HD.<br />
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If you liked the video there is another segment, or bonus clips, from the original DVD. They are also narrated by Matt and Kevin but unfortunately they aren't in HD. But the footage is still unbelievable, some of the cameras are more than 30 kilometres away from the launch pad.<br />
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<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jsvVU24uDIc?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jsvVU24uDIc?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7317107537381739577.post-37485904690967246752011-01-16T22:46:00.000+01:002011-01-19T21:56:44.429+01:00Telescope assembledAs I <a href="http://blog.barmonger.org/2011/01/ive-been-sick.html">mentioned</a> in the beginning of the month, my girlfriend got me a telescope for Christmas. I've never had a telescope before and all my stargazing have been confined to my high-zoom camera and standard binoculars.<br />
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Because of illness and generally being busy I haven't had the time to assemble it but today I decided to do it. Of course it's overcast once again but at least the scope is ready now for cloudless nights.<br />
And I can finally call myself an amateur astronomer :-) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmY1bG-gcjSa2OEwMyc6BV97U-2bFVIQB0SsAZ_A789anBWijkMoa41wusuQqBlQc_YAqQ0JVlDdHB0ptUG9TbOY_InXuQcziMqdnpvL4js8ZzqUgIqXw4M2XQumiI_KQsljqIWnSIKU/s1600/scope1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmY1bG-gcjSa2OEwMyc6BV97U-2bFVIQB0SsAZ_A789anBWijkMoa41wusuQqBlQc_YAqQ0JVlDdHB0ptUG9TbOY_InXuQcziMqdnpvL4js8ZzqUgIqXw4M2XQumiI_KQsljqIWnSIKU/s400/scope1.jpg" width="266" /> </a></div><br />
It's a Sky-Watcher <a href="http://www.nmmshop.com/Globes-Instruments/Scientific-Instruments/Telescopes/Product/Sky-Watcher-Capricorn-70-EQ1-telescope.html">Capricorn-70</a> refracting telescope with an aperture of 70mm and a focal length of 900mm.<br />
It is a lens-based telescope (and therefore doesn't use mirrors) and is suited best for viewing the Moon, the planets, comets and other fairly nearby objects (or at least visually 'small' objects such as single stars, double stars etc.). Of course it can be used to observe distant galaxies and nebulae as well but large apertures (which are required for faint objects) are cheaper in reflecting telescopes (which are mirror-based).<br />
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If you want a brief explanation of telescopes and advice on buying your own Thunderf00t has posted a small (7 minutes) video title '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAzhOSbxMiI">Which telescope to buy?</a>'.<br />
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I'm looking forward to using it once the sky clears up (and I move out of the city) and hopefully I'll be able to take a few pictures and post them on the blog.barmongerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784224402629820870noreply@blogger.com0